Two Choices
by G4rrusVakarian
Summary: A broken heart and mind broken. Hiccup lost the one thing he loved, maybe... Toothcup. If you don't like it don't read it. Rated M for safety. This is quote, unquote completed.
1. The first choice

Some say If you love it let it go. Some say that if you love it you should hold on as tight as possible. Until your knuckles are white and the underside of your nails bleed. They say that you're not allowed to bring companions to Valhalla, that your only allow to rejoin those lost on your own time, and that's the problem that Hiccup was in right now.

He was falling and he had two choices. One was to Grab Toothless and hope that the gods that they lived, or aim for his father and guarantee his life. His mind was rushing so quick that time had basically stopped. If you were there taking in the details that his mind was, you could count every bead of sweat on Hiccup's face. See every strand of hair whipping in the wind as he fell.

He landed with a crash. His father broke his fall as predicted. All Hiccup could hear was the muffled shouts of his father and the sound of everyone running on the black rocks that covered the island. Stoick picked him up and started to retreat to the last good ship. Before Hiccup fell unconscious he told his father to bring Toothless or his body back with them. His eyes closed to the inky blackness.

Hiccup awoke suddenly, though to his surprise with very minimal pain. Something was off but couldn't place it yet. He threw the blanket off of himself finding what was wrong. His leg was gone. He tried to stand but quickly fell. He got up and tried again, this time he got a few steps but fell again. He fell a few more times and let out one fierce scream that even the toughest Viking wouldn't think twice to run from. Hiccup opened the door of his house, only to hit by the sun. It illuminated his features. The bags under his eyes grew darker, the bruises on his arms and the part of his chest not covered by the tunic he was wearing blotched his skin. His new leg creaked as it landed on the rock surface in front of his house. He didn't want to be noticed but it was too late. A meaty hand wrapped around Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup asked where Toothless was but Stoick was silent. He asked again this time with more urgency.

Stoick answered softly that they put Toothless' body in the arena. Hiccup only closed his eyes, holding in his tears and the scream his so desperately wanted to release. Hiccup looked up into the sky, then slowly walked through the village to the arena.

When he got there the place hadn't even been cleaned from his 'fight' with the Monstrous Nightmare. His eyes fell onto the block of ice with a black figure on it. The sight made him well up with tears. He walked up the mass and called out to Toothless. He pleaded to the gods. Once he settled down he couldn't help but cry. All he wanted was his one true friend back. And in that moment his heart and his mind broke in half. Hiccup couldn't be whole anymore.

Hiccup walked over to where he dropped the dagger during his 'fight' and picked it up. He slowly walked back over to Toothless' body. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He made the first cut. A few hours later he was finished skinning his old companion, but he wasn't finished. He walked back over to the weapons rack and picked up an axe. In one fluid motion Toothless' head slid to the ground. One last thing occupied his mind, he wanted to be closer than before. He grabbed the dagger and cut a piece of meat from Toothless' thigh. Once he was finished his mind finally caught up with what he had done. Hiccup ran a few feet away and vomited.

Hiccup folded the piece of meat into the skin and and placed the head on top, then carried it back into town with him. As he went through town people would give him sideways glances but no one asked him what he was carrying. Even if they did ask he wouldn't answer them. He entered his house and set a large kettle of water on the fire and placed the skull into it. Hiccup unfolded the skin and placed the piece of meat into a pan, and placed it over the fire as well. He ran the skin up to his room. I'll tan it in the morning he said to himself.

Stoick walked through the door as Hiccup slumped back down the stairs. Hiccup walked passed him without a glance. The meat had quickly finished and Hiccup carefully took it out of the pan and onto a plate, he placed the plate on the counter. He checked on the skull and decided that it would be finished after he'd eaten. Unknowingly to Hiccup, Stoick had taken a bite. Hiccup turned and saw a bite had been taken, he looked at his father, who shrugged his shoulders and told him that it wasn't that good… at all. Hiccup hands started to shake out of control. He wanted to attack his father, but the rational side of his brain which was somehow still active told him that he didn't know what the meat was. That there was no real reason to be mad at him. He took a deep breath and sat in front of the plate and eyed the meat. He wasn't happy that he was going to eat it, but some part of him told him that it would make him stronger, that by eating it, it would somehow make him feel better. In one quick motion he took a bite of it, he also quickly realized that it was a bad idea to do this. He choked it down, then looked around to see if his dad had left the room. He did a sweep of the area, then let out a silent sob. He didn't want to continue. He took another bite, and again choking it down. More sobs and another bite, until it was gone.

After he had finished Hiccup cleaned the table and went to check the kettle. He decided that the skull was finished and hastily took it out and put it on a cloth to cool. He told himself that it probably wasn't smart to keep it on the table so he wrapped the cloth up and took the skull up to his room with him. He unwrapped it and placed it onto the nightstand. Hiccup was tired from what he had done earlier in the day and decided that sleep was the next thing to do. He got undressed and plopped onto his bed, he placed his blanket over himself to the point of only being able to see the outside world with one eye. He focused on the Fury's skull until his eye slid closed from pure exhaustion.

In the middle of the night Hiccup woke up. He'd, had a nightmare but he as soon as he woke up he had forgotten what it was about. To his surprise he was laughing. But not a chuckle, almost maniacally. It scared him but he couldn't stop. Finally the rational part of his mind took over and made him stop. Now the laughing had turned into quiet sobbing. He grabbed the skin from the chair that was next to the bed, and then the skull from the nightstand. He fell to the floor, using his bed to support his back. He threw the skin over himself, which still smelt of fire and death, and he hugged the skull to his chest, tears dripping onto it as he pleaded to the gods again to bring back Toothless. He knew that his prayers would fall on deaf ears but he still pleaded quietly to himself just hoping that something would happen. Eventually he cried himself to sleep again.

He was awoken by his very angry father, who was very angry about the mess that hiccup had left in the arena. Stoick trudged into Hiccups room only to see the boy sitting on the ground with the skin over his head. The Chief realized his mistake and quietly walked out of the room. With the soft click of the latch, Stoick told himself that he would have some others clean it up later. He knew what his son was going through. After his beloved Valka was taken by that dragon, he didn't leave his house for a week. He sat around clutching onto a necklace that she used to wear. Even to this day he still wears it himself, forever hidden by his beard.

Hiccup was breathing heavily. His fathers yelling had woken him with a startle. He didn't want to move but he had to. He had to continue on with his plan. He slowly got up and placed the skull back onto the nightstand. He folded the skin carefully, making sure that there were no creases in it. He got dressed in his usual garment and took the skin and snuck out of his house through the window. To his surprise he landed gracefully even though his legs were shaking so violently that he could barely walk. The boy stealthily walked through the town, trying to not be noticed. Trying not to get any weird or pitiful looks. He snuck into the smithy, it was too early for Gobber to be awake and had a few hours to work without being interrupted. He got a fire going and started to tan the dragons hide. Making sure not to disrupt any of the ill fated scales. He made sure that it would end up indescribably soft on the inside while still being tough on the outside. Made sure that would keep him warm in the dead of winter and it being fire proof was just a perk of it being dragonhide. Hiccup poked two holes into the neck of the skin, then re-enforced them with small iron rings. Ran a small chain through the rings and knotted each side so that it wouldn't come loose. He threw the new cloak over himself and walked out of the smithy. As the sunlight hit his head it blinded him. He threw the head of Toothless over his own. The hood was so large that it obstructed his peripheral sight, and shaded his whole face. As he walked he heard the tail quietly dragging behind him. He didn't care to be stealthy any longer.

Most of the village was awake now. As he walked through the middle of the town people and dragons alike would give him a wide birth. He heard the mumbles of people commenting, but he didn't care. They had no idea what he and Toothless had. They were all so quick to kill dragons. Now that one had saved them they couldn't say anything without having to take it back, remembering that the dragon that caused so much destruction had saved everyone on the island at the cost of his own life. So Hiccup would let them comment, and never say anything back to them.

The other teens were doing a drill that caused them to pass over the village. They spotted Hiccup and Astrid solemnly smiled to herself. It had been a while since she had seen Hiccup, the last time that Astrid and the others had seen him was when he was falling from the sky. He was hauled away by his father before the others could get to him. The teens landed near Hiccup, the first to reach him was Snotlout. Who grabbed Hiccup's arm and pulled on it which made Hiccup fall to the ground in the process. Astrid forcefully grabbed Snotlout by the collar of his shirt and pinned him to a near by wall. She held her fist up and was ready to strike, but before she could her arm was lightly grabbed. She turned her head and saw that Hiccup was the person who had grabbed it. He mumbled that Snotlout wasn't worth the trouble and walked off without another word. She turned back to the boy pinned to the wall and shot daggers into his eyes, then let him fall the ground.

That night Hiccup sat in his room wrapped in his cloak. Out of nowhere his mind wandered, which soon turned into remembering his old friend. He remembered the day he found Toothless in the woods. The day they became one being. The day he lost his other half. His heart cracked into another piece. His mind went blank, not wanting to remember what could have been and what happened that day almost three weeks ago. He suddenly realised that he didn't want to live in the village any longer. Too many memories there. He also didn't want to be too far away either. He decided that moving out onto one of the sea stacks nearest the village, where he could build a small house was a good idea.

In the morning he left his house and found what he needed to create a bridge to the sea stack. It took him about two weeks to create the rope bridge. Once it was finished he had Astrid and Stormfly connect the bridge onto the stack. Once it was placed he tested it himself, deciding that it was safe he thanked Astrid and went to talk to his father.

Hiccup was nervous. He had no idea how Stoick would act when he said that he was moving out of the house, and into a much more dangerous house that he was going to build. When stoick walked into the house, Hiccup quietly asked him to sit so that they could talk. Hiccup had taken off the cloak as if to not seem not as threatening. As if the cloak added much it his frame. He mumbled that he was going to move out to the stack and that he was sorry about it. After Hiccup was finished, Stoick stood slowly and cupped Hiccup's face in his hand. With a small smile he told Hiccup that he would have a couple of the other villagers build it for him as a housewarming gift. Hiccup wrapped his arms around his father as much as he could and squeezed. His father repeated the action, and they stayed that way for a minute until Hiccup pulled away and walked up to his room wrapping himself in the cloak again. Stoick felt the weight around his neck and whispered into the air "I know Val. He lost something that can't be replaced… Just like you."

Within a month the house was finished. Nothing too fancy, but also not bare. In the time that the house was built Hiccup had created some furniture for himself. A bed, some chairs, a small table, etc… He didn't talk to anyone, actively avoiding others would be more accurate. He was finally settled though. Moved into his new house with ease and that's where he sat. Hiccup never left his house. Each day a villager was sent to leave him food and water which he took gratefully. Though people didn't know that he did leave his house sometimes. It was normally after everyone else had gone home for the night. He would often go to the smithy and make swords or daggers just to keep his skills sharp. It was loud work but vikings sleep like rocks so he wasn't worried about waking anyone with what he was doing. Hiccup would never leave his creations in the smithy, always bringing them home with him.

One night a storm crashed to life. It was late and Astrid was heading home when lightning struck the sea. It illuminated a figure on top of Hiccup's house. Who was standing on his roof she questioned.

Some say that Thor is what causes the thunder and lightning. And those people would be right, normally. This night though, was different. Toothless was distressed with not being allowed to be with his rider, friend and the person that he loved. Each time Toothless would strike the ground with his paw the lightning would strike, and when he roared the wind would pick up and howl.

Hiccup had dragged a barrel up onto the roof with him. It was the barrel he kept all the weapons he'd made over the weeks of being isolated. He didn't know why but that night felt special to him, like he had to be on his roof. Like he had to endure the storm, for some reason. He decided that if he was going to be on the roof he might as well discard the weapons into the sea while he was up there.

Astrid he crawled closer to Hiccup's house to see what he was doing. She sat just across the bridge not wanting to be seen. Hiccup held up a sword, the wind picked up whipping the cloak in the wind and the lightning struck the sea again illuminating the sword with a flash. He threw the sword over the ocean just to have it struck by the lightning. He smiled when the sword was hit. The dragon tamer threw another sword and Toothless struck the ground, again hitting the sword with deadly accuracy. His smile grew wider and he couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Another sword over the ocean and another perfect shot. This confirmed his thoughts and he laughed. Toothless roared and the wind picked up yet again but this time Hiccup thought he heard the familiar sound of a Night Fury. Hiccup turned to face the village now, the lightning struck and the village was lit up in light.

Astrid couldn't believe her eyes with what she had witnessed. She thought Hiccup had gone crazy as she watched him throw the swords over the edge of the cliff. But as she looked back towards his house the figure on top had disappeared. To her surprise the rain had stopped too. The sky still roared with anger, like it was upset with something.

Hiccup had seen Astrid when he faced the village. He mused he to himself about how she always talked about being so stealthy. He walked out of his house and found Astrid still staring at it. He slowly walked across his the bridge with a soft smile on his face. Half way through the walk on the bridge, the wind picked up again, more harsh than before and the whistling was louder. Hiccup could feel the cloak vibrating on his around his neck. He could only deduce that as the wind whipped the cloak around, something with the skin caused the sound. He had heard the sound many times and had even been on the back of Toothless a few times when he heard it, but he never knew what caused it. For now he only could figure that the wind hitting the skin was it.

Astrid heard the wailing getting closer to her as Hiccup walked across the bridge until he was right next to her. He was like a shadow in the night, Astrid told herself as Hiccup was now standing next to her. He was looking into the starlit sky. She hadn't even noticed that the clouds that drowned the sky had gone and so was the wind. The entire island was still. She turned to face Hiccup who was still looking into the sky with the smile on his face. This was the first time that anyone had seen him in the six weeks since his house was built. And with a smile on his face none the less. She thought that he would never smile again after what happened, hell she and most of the other villagers thought that he'd gone mad. Thought that he couldn't emote with his broken mind.

Astrid didn't even notice that Hiccup was now facing her. And was about to say something. His voice broke her out of her stupor.

"He's here." was all he said before he walked away. Astrid didn't know what he meant by that. She watch him walk away. Before he started across the bridge back to his house the wind picked up again. The sound of a Night Fury rang through the air again. Astrid's eye opened wide as she came to the realization of what he meant. She watched as Hiccup took another sword from the cloak and threw it over the side of the bridge just to be struck by lightning. Astrid's breathing became short bursts as she watched the sword get hit. She tried to rationalize it some how. There were no clouds to cause the lightning, it had come out of no where. She heard Hiccup laughing over the wind, and yell "GREAT SHOT BUD!" with happiness in his voice. Now she thought that she was going crazy. Astrid could hear Hiccup laugh all the way back to his house. As he entered he turned around and waved to Astrid. She weakly waved back and the door shut behind him. astrid couldn't move. She was paralysed with shock. She hadn't seen anything that crazy since Hiccup showed her Toothless the first time. Although that wasn't really being shown as much as finding the cove that Toothless had lived in and surprising both Hiccup and Toothless.

About seven weeks later snoggletog was on it's way. It was the day before and everyone was preparing the decorations for the festival. This year was even more special now that the dragons were there to celebrate with the villagers. Hiccup was in the main part of town looking at the tree they created each year. That's when he noticed all the dragons leaving the island. People were yelling at there dragons to return but they wouldn't listen. Hiccup saw Hookfang about to take off and jumped on just as she got into the air. He tried to get hookfang to listen and deviate from their course, but there was nothing he could do but sit and wait to land.

Hiccup saw an island in the distance, there were tons of dragons already on it and he could see some of the ones from Berk just ahead of him. Hookfang landed and Hiccup quickly jumped off. He looked around in awe. He started to tiptoe around trying not to disturb any of the dragons. He could hear the dragons chattering and every one and a while a few pops in the distance, he didn't pay the noise any attention. He saw a gronckle rolling a few of her eggs into a small pool of water but one had got away from the others. He was going to move it into the pool with others, but as he drew closer to it, it started to glow. Luckily for Hiccup he instinctively pulled the cloak around himself, as pieces of the the egg's shell hit it with enough force to have caused some serious damage if he wasn't wearing it. He came to the realization about what the other popping sounds must have been. He walked around the island a bit more, the dragons heeding him as a non threat as he watched more eggs explode. He smiled to himself, happy with the fact that the populations of the dragons would be allowed to grow again now that (at least) the people of Berk weren't killing them anymore.

He aimlessly walked around for a while more and eventually stumbled on the other riders dragons in a group. Their young happily yipping and snapping at each other. One of the offspring walked up to hiccup and squaked at him. He let out a small chuckle and picked it up and placed it on his shoulder. It squaked loudly and the others turned to face Hiccup. The other dragons bowed to Hiccup. He cocked his head in confusion, then he looked around him and all the other dragons around him were doing the same. He felt humble but didn't know if they were bowing for him or the cloak on his back. Maybe it was for both of them, he'd never know. His smile turned solum, wishing that Toothless was there with him. The wind whipped around him and he chuckled. Of course Toothless was watching but it didn't change the fact that he wasn't there with him. Hiccups mind slid to the day Toothless died, He fell to his knees letting out small choked sobs. The wind picked up just enough to make the cloak start to whistle. He apologize to no one particular, but the wind died down as the words fell from his mouth.

Hiccup regained his composure and stood up. He was still slightly shaking, but not enough to be noticed. He walked up to Hookfang and in a very small voice asked her to give him a ride back to Berk. As they left the offspring tried to follow but were stopped by the other riders dragons. Eventually the island was out of sight. He didn't know what to call the island. After a few minutes he'd settled on the name Oasis. It seem to the fit the island most effectively. A few more Minutes and Berk was on the horizon.

Once they landed he thanked Hookfang who blew a small smoke ring at him, then took off again towards the island. Hiccup was suddenly bombarded by loud voices asking a million questions that he could barely understand. Stoick's voice boomed over everyone elses, the other squawking vikings settled immediately. Stoick walked into the middle of the circle with Hiccup. He bent down on one knee to be eye level with him. He quietly asked Hiccup what happened to the dragons, why had they left? Hiccup only sighed and said just loud enough so that the first row of people had to strain to hear him, he said that the dragons would return. That there was nothing to worry about. Hiccup threw up his hood and the crowd split so that he could leave.

All the vikings watched Hiccup slowly walk away. A patch of wind blew and Hiccup's hood was blown off of his head, which caused him to stop. The group held a communal breath not wanting to make a sound. They watched as Hiccup looked to the heavens and a small laugh was heard by the group. Astrid's eye grew wide when the sound hit the group. She let out her breath followed by many others. They watched as Hiccup started walking again, this time with a little more hop in his step.

It was the day after snoggletog and Hiccup was standing on his roof. He was watching every dragon that belonged to Berk return. It made him both happy and sad. He watched all the Vikings greet there dragons and their offspring on the far side of the island. He sadly nodded to himself and retreated to his house.

Later that night he walked out of his house not really knowing how he felt. He walked up to the bridge and stared across it. Berk was beautiful at night Hiccup thought to himself. His head fell and now he was staring at the first plank of wood closest to his house. It was a side project he had created when he was building the bridge. It was carved so that there was an image on it. The image depicted Toothless and Himself flying over the highest point on Berk. A tear fell onto it. What a terrible day for rain he quietly said out loud as he pulled the hood over his face. He walked across the bridge, legs shaking the entire time. When he was on the other side he turned to face his house. With a sad smile he touched the torch he was carrying to the bridge. He stood there for a minute watching it fall into the sea below. He tossed the torch in as well. His next stop was Astrid's house. He placed a letter on the door, sticking it to the door with some sap from a near by tree.

Hiccup's next destination was the cove. He'd been actively avoiding it since Toothless died. He walked the single path that lead to the cove. He'd walked the same path so many times, he thought to himself. But now it was unfamiliar to him. The path was overgrown, and trail had started to disappear from disuse. He finally hit the edge of the cove. He gave one last look back at the path leading to the village before he crawled over the wall into the cove.

When he hit the ground, he fell and instantly started sobbing and apologizing to Toothless. Again and again i'm sorry trickled from his lips. Tears streamed from his sunken eyes. His body was quaking with each breath. He forced himself up. He didn't want to move but his mind was made up.

Hiccup trudged over to the pond in the middle of the cove and looked at himself. He hated the way he looked. Hair matted to his head, the dark rings around his eyes, his cracked lips, and his even paler complexion than he had a few months ago. He laughed at himself.

It was time he decided. He left his reflection, and looked around. He spotted what he wanted. A rock about the length of his hand and half the width, with a dull point at the tip. Not sharp enough he told himself. He walked over to one of the boulders littering the cove. Hiccup began scraping the rock against the stone. He made a small design against the boulder as he sharpened the rock to a fine point.

He placed the rock over his heart. One last gust of wind pushed its way past him. One last smile crossed his face. One last breath. One last push….

And now Hiccup was falling again….


	2. Dear Astrid

Dear Astrid,

If and when you find this I will be gone. Do not come looking for me, for I will not be of this realm. I am terribly sorry that this is how you'll find this out. I would like you to know that you were special to me, but the events of the last few months made me realize that I do not belong here. I just wish that things happened differently. Then I wouldn't be writing this letter. If you wish, my house is your's. Do with it what you will.

Please also inform my father that I was too weak to send this to him instead of you.

If my body is found please tell my father that I wish to have my funeral on the pond in the cove that I found. Please make sure that on my pyre that the cloak and Toothless' skull are along with me.

That is my final request.

I'm sorry.

-Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III


	3. The Second Choice

_Some say If you love it let it go. Some say that if you love it you should hold on as tight as possible. Until your knuckles are white and the underside of your nails bleed. They say that you're not allowed to bring companions to Valhalla, that your only allow to rejoin those lost on your own time_, and that's the problem that Hiccup was in right now.

He was falling and he had two choices. One was to Grab Toothless and hope that the gods that they lived, or aim for his father and guarantee his life. His mind was rushing so quick that time had basically stopped. If you were there taking in the details that his mind was, you could count every bead of sweat on Hiccup's face. See every strand of hair whipping in the wind as he fell.

He grabbed for Toothless. The dragon wrapped his body around Hiccup, he was willing to risk his life for the boy. With Hiccup's added weight how ever little it was, it changed their course. They hit the ground with a heavy thud. They were immensely lucky, they had landed only one foot from one of the spikes put up earlier in the day. Toothless checked to make sure Hiccup was alright. Small, almost unnoticeable breath passed the boys lips. Toothless decided that Hiccup was fine and allowed himself to succumb to the pain. Falling into a deep sleep.

Hiccup awoke with pain flooding his body. Numbed by his thoughts. He had to find Toothless. That was the only thing that occupied his mind. He removed the heavy blankets that covered him. he swung his legs over the side of the bed only to hear the distinct sound of metal against wood. He stared at his leg. At least we lived he mused to himself. He tried to stand only to fall under the pressure. He stood only to fall again. The third time he held onto the wall using it as a crutch. He limped his way to the door, opening it the sun struck him and he had to shield his eyes. He stood in the sun looking around astounded at what he was seeing. Viking and dragons together, it made him smile.

A meaty hand hooked its way around his shoulders and pulled him close the owner. "Well son what do you think?" Stoick asked. Hiccup only let out a happy sigh in response. Hiccup asked where Toothless was and his father answered with a sad note in his voice that Toothless had not woken yet and that they placed him in the arena. Hiccup immediately took off in a full sprint. Each time he would land on the new prosthetic he would let out a hiss of pain, but he didn't care. Get to Toothless was the only thought that crowded his mind again.

When he got to the arena he saw Toothless on the ground. His light breathing made Hiccup relax a bit. Hiccup tentatively walked over to the figure on the ground. Light puffs of smoke filled the air as Toothless breathed out. Hiccup sat next to the dragon's large head and couldn't help but cry tears of joy.

For three weeks Hiccup stayed with Toothless. After the first Hiccup started to plead with the gods. He was losing hope that the thing that he loved the most, would wake from his eternal slumber. During the second week he would plead to Toothless to wake. And finally the third he just sat with the dragon's head in his lap matching his breaths with the dragons. Until one day Toothless opened one of his eyes. Hiccup hadn't noticed until Toothless started moving his head. The second eye opened same as the first. Hiccup finally noticed and grabbed onto Toothless' neck and held on tight. Tears dripping onto Toothless' head as a small crooning sound made Hiccup release his captive. Hiccup stared into Toothless' green pools. The sight searing into Hiccup's soul. Hiccup couldn't believe that Toothless was finally awake. He laughed. For the first time in weeks, he laughed.

Toothless tried to get up, but couldn't. Pain shot through his body. He yelped when he tried to move. Hiccup immediately attempted to get the dragon to stop hurting himself. Hiccup's voice was pained and hoarse. "Don't move. Please don't move." The dragon did as he was told. Not happy that he wasn't allowed to get up and play with his love. Hiccup wouldn't move from the arena until Toothless did.

Toothless gave Hiccup a once over. Hiccup's new leg glinted in the sun. It made Toothless jump, for his life. He tried to run from what he thought was a blade. He only got a few feet from his original spot. Collapsing, his body was unwilling to move. Hiccup quickly took the few necessary steps to Reach Toothless' head. "What's wrong Bud?" Hiccup asked, while seeing if Toothless hurt himself again. He sat down next to the beast. Toothless immediately sniffed at the metal of the prosthetic leg. "Oh, sorry Bud. Normally I have it off. I must have forgotten. I didn't mean to scare you."

Toothless began to whimper. Remembering the night he took the leg to save Hiccup's life. He wanted to see, what he'd done. He bit the metal leg, pulling it from Hiccup's thigh. "what are you doing Bud?" Toothless nudged the stump, wanting Hiccup to show him. Hiccup only gave him a confused look. Toothless decided that He wouldn't get what he wanted if he didn't do it himself. He grabbed the knot at the bottom of the pant leg and pulled. The pant leg ripped and moved Hiccup a few inches from where he was sitting. Toothless looked at the now uncovered stump. Not happy with what he saw, the tissue scarred over, with a slight discolored tone. Hiccup cringed at it, he tried not to look at it as much as possible. Toothless kept looking at what he caused. He started to lick the remaining part of Hiccup's leg. Hiccup was dreadfully confused by Toothless actions. But what he saw only helped a little. The scars were not as prominent, and the throbbing pain that always lied dormant was completely gone.

Hiccup had heard the rumors that dragons saliva had healing properties, but no one could confirm it. It wasn't magic but something about it helped. There was another rumor, that if you were to drink the acidic spit and somehow survive the terrible pain, you would live forever.

Toothless stopped his ministrations to look at the stump again. He was pleased with the results. The scaring had gone down a considerable amount and the discolored parted had Hiccup's healthy skin tone again. He turned his head purring to his hatchling, happy to help with his healing. Hiccup inspected the stump further, amazed that the weird color was gone from it. He was hoping that it wasn't infected otherwise he would have to get more of his leg cut off. What ever it was, Toothless fixed it. "Thanks Bud" was all he could say before the large black body swallowed his own. Holding him close to the others. Hiccup squirmed trying to get loose from the dragons grip on him, but Toothless was unmoving. He wouldn't allow that tiny body get any further than flush against his own. Eventually Hiccup stopped moving too tired from trying to fight Toothless. Eventually the boy allowed himself to fall asleep knowing that he was safe.

Toothless watched as the small figure slept. Calmed by the even breaths he took, and the way he tried to curl further into the heat rolling off the dragons body. Toothless wanted Hiccup to know how much he meant to him. Toothless bent his head down and placed his mouth over Hiccup's neck and shoulder. He stopped closing his mouth over the flesh for a second, hoping that he'd accept what he was doing. In one quick motion he sunk his teeth into the boy. To his surprise the boy hadn't awoken from the deed. He immediately started to lick the blood pouring from the wounds. The pain from the acidic spit caused Hiccup to wake. He was screaming from the pain rushing through his whole body. Toothless held him down as he finished licking the blood away making sure that the cuts had properly closed. Seared shut from his spit.

Toothless finally let Hiccup go. Hiccup backed up to the wall of the arena, taking off the now ruined shirt. He touched the new scars on his body. He traced the small indents on his skin. Toothless slowly advanced on Hiccup. Limping from the pain. His body resisting the movement. His mind needed to be near Hiccup, so he slowly walked to the boy. The boy in question now had his arms wrapped around his leg, his head resting on his knees. Toothless nudged Hiccups arm, trying to get him to look up. Hiccup pushed him away, and held out his hand. Wanting to keep the dragon at bay.

Toothless looked at the outstretched hand. They'd been in this situation before, he knew exactly what to do. Toothless pushed his muzzle against Hiccup's hand. The touch made Hiccup whince, then he looked up to the dragon, who stared at him. That dragon knew exactly what to do to get through any wall Hiccup put up. Literally defenceless from the dragon's actions. He could only sit and watch as his dragon wrapped itself around him again. He was swallowed again by the blackness. He could only hear the loud purring sound erupting from the dark figure. Hiccup couldn't put a finger on it but the sound made him feel safe. Like the sound itself would protect him, not to mention the thing making it. Hiccup sat with his eyes closed, listening to the sound that he hoped would never end. Eventually he fell asleep against his guardian.

When Hiccup woke the moon was high in the sky and frost had set in. Luckily for him, he was trapped in a small pocket of heat. He never wanted to leave it. He could hear the light snoring that echoed in the room. He was happy that Toothless could sleep without being in pain. Hiccup remembered how hard it was to watch as the dragon whined in his sleep. He hoped it was from the pain, and not from an eternal nightmare he couldn't escape. He huffed hoping that nothing like what happened would happen again. He absent mindedly scratched the scales at Toothless' belly, causing the purring to return. Hiccup giggled at how easily he could cause that to happen.

Unbenounced to Hiccup, Toothless had awoken as well. He was watching his human, happy that he wasn't pushed away. He nuzzled the humans neck, which startled him. "Hey bud." Hiccup whispered. Toothless began to lick at the mark on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup sighed causing Toothless to slow his ministrations. "Why me?" Hiccup asked. He knew full well what the bite meant. He was claimed by none other than Toothless. There wasn't much he could do about it, not that he wanted to. First Viking to befriend a dragon, and now the first to be claimed by one. 'What a weird life I have.' he mused to himself. Toothless nuzzled him again, making Hiccup smile. He pulled the head closer to him, scratching behind the dragons ears, and under his chin. The purring became even louder. It made Hiccup's body vibrate as he scratched the one he was claimed by.

Suddenly Hiccup didn't know what came over him. He moved behind Toothless' head. He kept scratching the dragon's ears as he felt around his neck. He quickly bit down on the scales and flesh there. He bit as hard as he could, until he drew blood. Toothless had stopped purring, letting out a small whine as he felt the blunted teeth push through the least protected part of his body. Toothless could feel the blood dribble from the bite, it would quickly clot and heal on its own, he wasn't worried about it. He felt a something smooth and wet pass over the wound. He turned his head just enough to see Hiccup licking it just as he'd done to the boy. Even though it wouldn't help the healing, it made Hiccup feel better by doing it. Hiccup stopped once he could no longer taste the iron-y blood. He felt around the skin, wanting to find the mark he left. When his fingers traced over the now scarred over bite he winced. Toothless pulled Hiccup closer to him. Hiccup had never felt as loved as he did right now. He layed small kisses on the dragon's chest as sleep consumed him again.

The next morning, Stoick and Astrid walked into the arena. They didn't know what to think when they entered. Hiccup's leg was on the opposite side of the arena, cloth from his pants and shirt ripped and shredded, and the blood on the ground. They rushed around looking for any sign that Hiccup was still alive. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" Astrid screamed at the sleeping figure. Toothless didn't budge, hoping that she'd go away if he didn't respond. The girls voice was joined by a much louder one. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SON, DEVEL?" Toothless jumped up. Eyes narrow, growling at the two intruders, ready to strike to protect what he claimed. Hiccup woke up as the cold air nipped at his body. He was wondering why Toothless wasn't wrapped around him, until the sound of three angry beings, broke him from his daze. He quickly climbed out from under Toothless. Seeing that his father and Astrid had weapons ready to attack. He jumped in front of Toothless. "NO Stop." he screamed at the two, balancing one his one leg. Toothless moved his head so that Hiccup could have something to hold onto. "Thanks bud" he whispered to the dragon. Scratching behind his ears.

"Hiccup we thought you were dead!" Astrid said. "What?" Hiccup replied. "Why would I be dead? How would I have died? Too many cuddles from my dragon?" he laughed. Said dragon cooed and nuzzled his head into Hiccup's side. "Well I don't know. we didn't see you and there's blood on the ground and your leg is way over there. We didn't know what to think." Astrid said, sweeping her hand around the arena. Hiccup looked around the arena for the first time since Toothless had awoken. He could see what she was saying. "Damn bud, we made a mess didn't we?" The dragon responded with a gurgle.

The group stood for a minute, until stoick broke the silence. "Hiccup what is that?" The overly large viking asked, pointing at the bite on Hiccup's shoulder. "Oh this, haha it's uhm you know. It's a bite. That... Toothless gave me. But it doesn't mean anything." He lied, scratching Toothless behind the ear reassuring the dragon. Stoick raised an eyebrow at the two in front of him. "All right then. Well let's get going Astrid, i'm sure these two gave some more catching up to do."

Astrid nodded and started out of the arena. Once she was out of earshot, Stoick turned back to the boys. "Hiccup listen, i'm not dumb. I know what the bite means, Hel, you see it on every other dragon around here. Now I may not approve but there's no stopping you. The last time I tried you almost died. So just be careful. And you devil, you take care of him, he's in your hands- paws now. Hiccup i'll expect you back in the house in a few days, returning to your duties, you hear?" Hiccup replied with a curt nod to his father. Red in the face from the inability to hide what the mark meant.

Stoick quickly left. After a minute of standing not saying anything broke the silence "Well bud, what do you want to dah-." Toothless pulled Hiccup back into himself, closing his wings around them. "More sleeping huh. I think i'm okay with that." Hiccup curled in closer to the heat of his best friend and mate. One last smile crossed his face. One last breath. One last push….

And now Hiccup was falling (asleep) again….


End file.
